'Adoption eased our heartache'

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 6:00 AM

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Hugh Jackman. AFP

Adopting their first child helped Hugh Jackman and his wife overcome the pain of multiple miscarriages.

The 44-year-old actor and his wife Deborra-Lee Furness always planned to adopt after having their own biological children but when they were unable to conceive naturally, bringing forward their adoption plans helped the couple recover from their losses.

Hugh – who has kids Oscar, 12 and seven-year-old Ava with Deborra – told Katie Couric on her talk show Katie: "Until you go through it, you understand it’s not talked about a lot. By the way to be clear, Deb and I always wanted to adopt. So that was always in our plan. We didn’t know where in the process that would happen but biologically obviously we tried and it was not happening for us and it is a difficult time.

"We did IVF and Deb had a couple of miscarriages. I’ll never forget it, the miscarriage thing… It happens to one in three pregnancies. But it’s very, very rarely talked about. It’s almost secretive, so I hope Deb doesn’t mind me bringing it up now.

“It’s a good thing to talk about it. It’s more common and it is tough. There’s a grieving that you have to go through. So the moment Oscar was born, all the heartache just melted away.”

While Hugh and Deborra were thrilled to have a child of their own, the Les Miserables star admitted all of his emotions were heightened when he became a parent.

He said: “Parents know you can’t prepare for that moment. Nothing can prepare you... You can’t even explain how incredible it is and that avalanche of emotion that comes and how it opens up your heart, how it frustrates you, how it angers you, how everything is just all the sudden how alive you are as a parent.”

Bang Showbiz

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